Members' Online Book: Cruising Boat Electrical Systems, Chapter 7 of 22

How Batteries Get Wrecked and What To Do About It

Published Aug 2, 2010 76 comments Updated April 3, 2019

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So far in this Online Book we have covered the basic theory. Now let's look at, and quantify, what will happen if we just stick with the electrical system installed on most boats. After all, if we are going to improve things, it's as well to know what the payoff will be.

About eight years ago, we switched to Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) batteries on Morgan’s Cloud, to get the following benefits over liquid filled lead-acid batteries:

  • Shorter recharge times since AGM batteries accept a faster charge rate.
  • About 10% more capacity in the same size battery.

However, our experience was not good: We went through four sets of house batteries from two different manufacturers.

In the process of solving that problem, we learnt a huge amount that can be applied to the care of any lead acid battery. Read on:

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Meet the Author

John

John was born and brought up in Bermuda and started sailing as a child, racing locally and offshore before turning to cruising. He has sailed over 100,000 miles, most of it on his McCurdy & Rhodes 56, Morgan's Cloud, including eight ocean races to Bermuda, culminating in winning his class twice in the Newport Bermuda Race. He has skippered a series of voyages in the North Atlantic, the majority of which have been to the high latitudes. John has been helping others go voyaging by sharing his experience for twenty years, first in yachting magazines and, for the last 12 years, as co-editor/publisher of AAC.

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Nothing on this website or in direct communications received from us, or in our articles in the media, should be construed to mean or imply that offshore voyaging is anything other than potentially hazardous. Dangers such as, but not limited to, extreme weather, cold, ice, lack of help or assistance, gear failure, grounding, and falling overboard could injure or kill you and wreck your boat.

Decisions such as, but not limited to, heading offshore, where you go, and how you equip your boat, are yours and yours alone. The information on this web site is based on what has worked for the authors in the past, but that does not mean it will work for you, or that it is the best, or even a good way for you to do things.